October 2011

This course interrogates the figure of the child that, as Robin Wood (1985) reminds us, has “figured prominently in horror film as the monster or its medium (202).” This figure—embodied as “innocent” baby, child, or teenager somehow gone wrong—operates as much more than simply an inspirer of terror in this context; it exposes collective anxieties about ourselves: our beliefs, our environment, our desires, and our futures. Issues related to gender, race, class, sexuality and (of course) age are crucial here, and we’ll discuss the interconnectedness of all of them—and more—each week we meet.